Ray Bradbury's 'A Sound Of Thunder'

An extremely dramatic, science-fiction short story “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury, is definitely one of the most descriptive stories up to date. Bradbury mentions, “ A Sound of Thunder” twice in the story on pages 39 and 44 and as the title. Both times he writes this phrase the meanings are tremendously different. They obviously mean a loud boom of some sort but are used in different ways. The title is also very significant in this story because it incorporates a sound of thunder. However, the reader does not know which sound of thunder he is actually talking about. This gives the reader a sense of curiosity throughout the story.
When Bradbury first mentions “A Sound of Thunder” on page 39, he describes the gigantic Tyrannosaurus

Rex coming from the mist of the jungle (Bradbury 39). At the time, Eckels was extremely terrified that he wouldn't live so he aimlessly walked off the path and hid in the machine. This sound of thunder resembles the huge dinosaur’s loud footsteps. The whole jungle was completely silenced until the T- Rex’s wrath rained upon the men. At the ending of the story, Bradbury also uses the expression, “A Sound of Thunder” which resembles Travis’ gun shooting at Eckels. This time Bradbury used a sound of thunder as a very loud rifle shot. He states, “... he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon… there was a sound of thunder” (Bradbury 44). This quote ultimately explains Bradbury’s comparison between thunder and a gun. It also gives a tone of anxiety and fear running through the reader’s head because of the long suspenseful moment of silence between the group of hunters. These two phrases of “A Sound of Thunder” may both resemble loud actions but, also have a very different meaning.
When Bradbury first mentions “A Sound of Thunder”, he resembles it as a T-Rex’s booming noise in the forest. However, he is not really saying that a T-Rex makes thunder sounds. He is using a very descriptive metaphor which compares a loud thunder boom to the dinosaur. The second time bradbury states “A Sound of Thunder”, he is also using a metaphor comparing the rifle shot to a thunder boom. These two statements are similar because they both involve a very loud action taking place. However, these metaphors can be different because the first one is about man vs. nature while the second is about man vs. man. The statements are external conflicts both dealing with the main character Eckels. In addition, the first metaphor tells the reader to not mess with nature since Eckels was too scared to shoot the dinosaur. The second metaphor tells the reader that consequences are made while messing with nature. This unfortunately results in Travis executing Eckels for destroying the whole world.
Not only do the two metaphors in the story incorporate “A Sound of Thunder” but, Bradbury names the story “A Sound of Thunder” as well.

The title of this story is extremely significant in numerous ways. To start off, the title brings significance to the story because a literal thunder cloud means a terrible storm is coming. This relates at the end of the story because when Travis shoots Eckels it could possibly show the impending doom the country is coming to. This can also relate because it shows the terrible election of Deutscher becoming president and what is going to happen in the future. The sound of thunder used in the story resembles a momentous happening that usually led to something bad. Bradbury vividly describes the T-Rex by saying, “ It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker’s claws close to its oily reptilian chest” (Bradbury 39), which means that dinosaur was a terrible sign of doom, or a sound of thunder. Furthermore, the title has great significance towards the story because it gives the reader a message of not to mess with time travel. Even though time travel may never actually exist in the real world, the reader can relate this to not messing with a big problem they cannot handle. A famous idiom “ Don’t bite off more than you can chew” means that you really can't finish or figure out what you initially started. This incorporates to “A Sound of Thunder” because Eckels thought nothing bad was

going to happen but his theory backfired ruining the whole world. He never knew that crushing a butterfly could change anything but once again “A Sound of Thunder” indicates that messing with the past is a terrible decision.
In final conclusion, Bradbury mentions the phrase “A Sound of Thunder”, in the beginning and end of the story both showing loud noises.

However, if the reader looks deeper into the overall moral and theme of the story, “ A Sound of Thunder” could possibly mean that one little change can make a huge impact in the future just like a storm brewing. The two phrases also have some similar yet also some different unique qualities used to really impact the readers perspective of a sound of thunder. “ A Sound of Thunder” as the title of the story ultimately gives a clear point of the lesson Bradbury is trying to tell the reader. This significant title gives the reader many hints toward what may happen throughout the story which also is interpreted as a sound of thunder. All in all, “ A Sound of Thunder” is an incredibly powerful phrase which Bradbury uses as a more profound meaning than just a description of a dinosaur or a shot from a

rifle.